Podcast Summary

Podcast: Next Comes What
Host: Andrea Pitzer
Episode: This is your brain on propaganda
Date: December 26, 2025
Theme:
In this episode, Andrea Pitzer explores how propaganda is shaping attitudes and policies against trans people in the U.S. and abroad, drawing lessons from the global history of strongman regimes and authoritarian propaganda. Examining parallels with past and present waves of hate, Pitzer discusses how these manufactured moral panics serve political ends—and how to resist and unmake their influence.

Main Topics & Discussion Points

1. Propaganda's Role in Social Shifts

• Opening Context (00:36):
  • Pitzer reflects on the growing tide of hate and manipulation in U.S. politics, particularly targeted at trans people, and how it is hard to keep track of its developments.
    • “So much is being done to foster and manipulate hatred in the United States right now...” — Andrea Pitzer [00:36]
• Manufactured Scapegoating:
  • Jason Stanley (guest/expert) interjects with satirical asides highlighting how contemporary U.S. and U.K. leaders use bigotry as a political tool.
    • “Democrats don't care about anything other than maybe transing their kids.” — Jason Stanley [01:27]

2. Recent Anti-Trans Policies and Their Framing

• Federal and State Attacks:
  • Coverage of policy moves, such as attempts by RFK Jr.'s administration to ban gender-affirming care in hospitals participating in Medicare/Medicaid, and state-level measures like tip lines in Texas for bathroom policing.
    • “Headed up announcements banning hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid...” — Andrea Pitzer [01:46]
    • Humiliating enforcement, e.g., Texas bathroom guards (04:00)
  • U.S. House moves to criminalize care for trans minors; the psychological impacts on young people (“They don't believe that they have a future...” — [02:50])

3. Comparisons with International and Historical Parallels

• UK as a Negative Case Study:
  • Detailed look at how British media campaigns (esp. certain left-leaning feminists and editors) have laundered anti-trans talking points, flipping public opinion after years of progress.
    • “It was all laundered through major newspapers...” — Andrea Pitzer [05:25]
    • Christine Burns describes the mystery of UK’s hostility and its sudden, media-driven shift [05:40].
    • “It wasn't widespread until extremely recently...” — Jason Stanley [06:00]
  • Despite wide public support for pro-trans reforms in 2020, the government refused legal change due to media-driven backlash.
    • “Despite those results... decided not to change its current law.” — Andrea Pitzer [07:12]

4. Mechanisms and Myths of Demonization

• Copycat Rhetoric and “Protection” Language:
  • Recycled myths from anti-gay campaigns, conspiracy about chemicals causing queerness/transness.
    • “Today’s poisoned rhetoric mostly copies that used against gay and lesbian folks in prior decades.” — Andrea Pitzer [08:51]
    • “Alex Jones... putting chemicals in the water that were turning the frogs gay.” — Jason Stanley [09:33]
• Stripping Autonomy and Weaponizing “Protection”:
  • The framing of bathroom bills, healthcare bans, and civil restrictions as “protecting women” or “protecting children”—while in fact targeting and erasing marginalized people.
    • “The language of protection is often a first path to doing this.” — Andrea Pitzer [11:34]

5. Parallels to Historic Propaganda and Psychological Effects

• Cold War Echoes:
  • Reflection on how Cold War paranoia (red scare) made reasonable discourse impossible and was exploited for power.
    • “One of the things... was the degree to which Cold War propaganda... made any concrete discussion... almost impossible.” — Andrea Pitzer [13:57]
    • “One of the things... is how fragile civil liberties are and how willing people are to trade... for the promise of security.” — Clay Ryson [15:21]
• Consequences for Young People:
  • Psychological harm to trans youth—loss of hope, loss of access to medical care, and the toll of societal hate.
    • “The greatest possible harm out of all this will be to their ability to live their own lives and access medical care.” — Andrea Pitzer [17:06]

6. The Power and Danger of Propaganda Frames

• Entrenchment and Mindset:
  • Jason Stanley explains: “Everyone uses propaganda. It's a kind of communication that makes a case for a goal bypassing reason, really.” [22:28]
  • Given enough time, propaganda can completely remake society, flipping groups who would have once opposed hate into supporting it.
    • “Given enough funding and given enough time, propaganda can completely remake society...” — Andrea Pitzer [22:53]
• Shifting Public Views:
  • Millions in the UK who once favored trans rights have changed positions after years of focused propaganda.
    • “Millions of people in the UK who once supported human rights and respect for trans people have switched their views...” — Andrea Pitzer [22:20]

7. Media, Elections, and the Limits of Anti-Trans Rhetoric

• Media Collaboration and Litigation:
  • National media outlets feed anti-trans narratives (“just asking questions”) that quickly feed into court cases and legal arguments.
    • “The New York Times to like pipeline from literally from publication to being used in this litigation was like six days.” — Jason Stanley [24:29]
• Elections Show Diminishing Returns:
  • Spending on anti-trans TV ads has not paid off electorally; Virginia poll shows only 3% of voters cite trans student policies as a top concern.
    • “It seems to be more and more of a losing issue.” — Andrea Pitzer [25:45]

8. How to Respond: Strategies for Resistance

• Personal Stories and Depersonalizing Propaganda:
  • Example: Sarah McBride in Congress refuses to take the bait on “bathroom bills,” stays focused on constituent needs and humanizes debate.
    • “She is most interested in sidestepping the kind of combat she sees as unproductive.” — Andrea Pitzer [27:26]
    • “All any of us want is to live a life of purpose and happiness and wholeness.” — Sarah McBride (quoted by Pitzer) [28:12]
• Effective Activism:
  • Social media can support the vulnerable but rarely changes opponents’ minds.
  • Real shifts happen through local relationships, support for national organizations, and insisting on honest, humanizing journalism.
    • “Propaganda is weakest on the local level and in real lives.” — Andrea Pitzer [29:59]
• Reporting that Counters Propaganda:
  • Mention of a Popular Science article that correctly reports on actual data, not hype.
  • “It’s a careful and thoughtful, iterative type of care.” — Jason Stanley [30:58]

9. The Personal and the Concrete

• Protecting Kids and Building Community:
  • Pitzer advocates for galvanizing local officials, volunteering, and community events that make trans people visible and integrated—as real humans, not abstractions.
  • The presence of love/support in daily life is the hardest thing for propaganda to break down.
    • “The more present the protection and love is in everyday lives, the harder propaganda has to work to dismantle those community networks and attitudes.” — Andrea Pitzer [33:22]
• Solidarity and Elegance in Response:
  • Pedro Pascal’s reflection on standing up to hate: “It’s a situation that deserves the utmost elegance so that something can actually happen and people will actually be protected.” — Quoted by Andrea Pitzer [34:22]

Memorable Quotes with Timestamps

• “So much is being done to foster and manipulate hatred in the United States right now...” — Andrea Pitzer [00:36]
• “Democrats don't care about anything other than maybe transing their kids.” — Jason Stanley [01:27]
• “They don't believe that they have a future because they listen to the words that come out of our mouths...” — Andrea Pitzer [02:50]
• “It was all laundered through major newspapers...” — Andrea Pitzer [05:25]
• “It wasn't widespread until extremely recently. As late as 2017, we'd made steady advances for the trans people in Britain...” — Jason Stanley [06:00]
• “Despite those results... decided not to change its current law.” — Andrea Pitzer [07:12]
• “It’s the same just asking questions approach that serves to actively undermine any comprehension of what’s really taking place and what public policies would be ideal.” — Andrea Pitzer [08:51]
• “The blurring of the lines between sexes and radical social agendas is a hatred for nature as God designed it.” — Jason Stanley [10:37]
• “The language of protection is often a first path to doing this.” — Andrea Pitzer [11:34]
• “One of the things that is important... is how fragile civil liberties are and how willing people are to trade... for the promise of security.” — Clay Ryson [15:21, paraphrased by Pitzer]
• “Everyone uses propaganda. It's a kind of communication that makes a case for a goal bypassing reason, really.” — Jason Stanley [22:28]
• “Given enough funding and given enough time, propaganda can completely remake society...” — Andrea Pitzer [22:53]
• “It seems to be more and more of a losing issue.” — Andrea Pitzer [25:45]
• “She is most interested in sidestepping the kind of combat she sees as unproductive.” — Andrea Pitzer [27:26]
• “Propaganda is weakest on the local level and in real lives.” — Andrea Pitzer [29:59]
• “All any of us want is to live a life of purpose and happiness and wholeness.” — Sarah McBride [28:12]
• “The more present the protection and love is in everyday lives, the harder propaganda has to work to dismantle those community networks and attitudes.” — Andrea Pitzer [33:22]
• “It’s a situation that deserves the utmost elegance so that something can actually happen and people will actually be protected.” — Pedro Pascal (via Andrea Pitzer) [34:22]

Key Takeaways & Actionable Insights

• Mass propaganda against trans people mirrors tactics used historically against other vulnerable groups, and is effective at flipping even those previously supportive.
• Policy and media attacks rely heavily on dishonest “protection” rhetoric, frequently adopting frameworks from previous homophobic and xenophobic panics.
• Direct, compassionate, real-life relationships—and focus on positive, humanizing local reporting—offer the most robust antidote to propaganda.
• Grassroots organizing, honest journalism, and sticking to facts rather than propaganda frameworks is critical.
• Propaganda is powerful but not totalizing; its electoral effectiveness is waning, and new frameworks of solidarity and local action are possible and essential.

For more, support Andrea Pitzer and the Next Comes What podcast at andreapitzer.com.